“He will win an Australian Open, the question is when,” said Roger Federer, speculating when Carlos Alcaraz will conquer the final frontier in his young career. The Spaniard is one of the brightest talents in his generation, and his Slam success on three surfaces speaks plenty. Ahead of launching his campaign to become the youngest man to complete a career Grand Slam at the January 12-26 event, fans were reminded that Alcaraz is still single and on the market.

The year 2024 was all about love. Many star players got engaged during the holiday season. Felix Auger-Aliassame and Alex de Minaur were some of the players who got down on one knee. They professed love to their longtime girlfriends. Alcaraz, however, didn’t enjoy a similar status. Seeing as the young Spaniard wasn’t dating anyone, and seemingly, his plans exclusively targeted his professional goals.

With a similar motivation driving his ambitions at Melbourne Park, the former World No. 1 featured in an exhibition event at the centre court. There he locked horns with home favourite Minaur. Following their gruelling contest that concluded in the Aussie’s favour, 7-5 4-6 (10-5), Alcaraz hilariously remarked on his love life during a joint interview with retired star Andrea Petkovic. The 21-year-old joked that it could be his year to find love after watching his colleagues getting engaged during the offseason.

He said, “Who knows this year? No engagement so far, single so far. But these holidays, three or four tennis players got engaged. I thought it was my turn,” smiled Alcaraz and quickly clarified that he was just having a laugh, “No I didn’t”. For those unaware, Minaur got engaged to his girlfriend Katie Boulter. The British WTA star initially rejected him when the Aussie asked her out on a date.

“The first time I asked her out, she straight up said no. I asked her out for a coffee date, and she replied with no… That was tough to take, but being the persistent person that I am, I asked again and she said maybe. So we went with that, and here we are,” said Minaur. Moreover, his engagement news also earned a response from Alcaraz in Melbourne.

Carlos Alcaraz takes a cheeky jibe at Alex de Minaur’s engagement news

Spanish superstar Carlos Alcaraz has not moved past the quarterfinals of the Melbourne Slam in his three previous visits. But that has hardly dented his ambitions to lift the one missing silverware to his glittering resume. Before joking with fans about his dating status, young Carlitos congratulated Alex de Minaur upon his engagement to Briton Katie Boulter. To much hilarity, Alcaraz issued a cheeky response to the ‘hot’ update which Boulter might not like.

He said, “I mean, I already told him congratulations. I don’t know if you’re sure about it! But no, I’ve seen them in the tournaments. I mean, I don’t know Katie very much but it seems that she’s a very nice person so I think you’re going to enjoy this marriage, hopefully, everything is going to be good. And yeah, congratulations! As you said, I’m too young to talk.”

If the Spaniard earns glory in Melbourne, he will follow up on his plans to get another tattoo. And, with it, immortalize his incredible Slam victory on the skin.